On the Stability of Operation of Antimony Sulfide Selenide Thin Film Solar Cells Under Solar Radiation

Abstract

Operational stability of FTO/CdS/Sb2S1.08Se1.92/C‐Ag thin film solar cells under solar radiation is presented. These solar cells are produced on fluorine‐doped SnO2 (FTO) by thermal evaporation of Sb2S3 and Sb2Se3 powders. Thin film of Sb2S1.08Se1.92 (300 nm) shows a bandgap of 1.45 eV. Its electrical conductivity is 10−7 Ω−1 cm−1 (dark) and 10−5 Ω−1 cm−1 under illumination. Thin film of CdS (120 nm) for the solar cell is obtained on FTO by chemical deposition. Antimony chalcogenide film is deposited on FTO/CdS substrates maintained at 425 °C via thermal evaporation from a mixture of Sb2S3 and Sb2Se3 powders. Subsequently, graphite paint and silver paint electrodes of area 0.49–0.64 cm2 are applied on it. Efficiency of conversion (η) is 5.9 % for the best solar cell and 5.6% on an average for eight cells. Open circuit voltage (Voc) of the cell is 0.453 V; short circuit current density (Jsc), 24.7 mA cm−2; and fill factor, 0.53. For solar cells placed under the sun over 5 days in the exterior with exposure of 24 kWh m−2, η dropped to 5%. Under 30 suns, Voc of 0.54 V and Jsc of 130 mA cm−2 are recorded. The cells remained functional.